No, this is going to be an original movie musical. The songs are all original and were written specifically for Hugh Jackman, and there will be dancing in this movie too. It is an original musical biopic, not based on any film or Broadway play that currently exists.
No, it is not based on the stage musical BARNUM, which starred Jim Dale in America and Michael Crawford ( the original Phantom) in England.
I think the musical score will have a more contemporary vibe, given that its composers are Pasek and Paul, who have written both contemporary music and musical theatre material. I understand they also did some songs for the TV show SMASH.
But maybe the score here will have some musical theatre influences. But unlike the film adaptations ( and original stagings) of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Evita, this movie musical will NOT be "sung-through" (which is more operatic in structure, with hardly any spoken dialog)... but it will likely be more of the conventional "book musical ". The storytelling will proceed with spoken dialog interspersed with songs as a general rule ( think Rodgers and Hammerstein, Chicago).
The script was originally penned by Jenny Bicks but polished by Bill Condon ( who gave us Dreamgirls and is now working on the live action musical, Beauty and the Beast, as director).
I am hoping that the film will feature the triple-threat talents of " acting, singing, and dancing " and since this is partly about the circus that Barnum famously founded, that spectacular scenes will be involved. Maybe this will be a solid, fun family entertainment, hence the opening date of Christmas Day 2016!
If you haven't seen Hugh Jackman sing and dance ( except maybe for the 2009 Oscars which he hosted), this will be quite a revelation. Apart from singing ( which he showed in Les Miserables), Hugh is also a great dancer, with athletic grace and a joy of performing that is very engaging.
Here's the opening number for the 2009 Oscars --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Terhj8mjPwY
Hope they also have a great support cast!.
The authors also later did "La La Land" after you posted this.Yeah, as we know, a bit more modern, but I managed to enjoy it...props suited to the period, no motor vehicles...or cellphones in keeping with the times!
shareI thought they might have included a couple of the more memorable songs from the class stage musical such as 'There's a Sucker Born Every Minute' and 'Come Follow the Band'. But obviously not.
shareThat's an odd expectation. Like saying "I really enjoyed The Lion King, but I wish they'd included a couple songs from Cats." Or "I liked Grease, but they should have added some songs from Bye Bye Birdie."
shareWhat the hell has the Lion King and Cats got to do with one another ? What the hell has Grease and Bye Bye Birdie got to do with one another ? The world famous stage show 'Barnum' and its accompanying music is all about the P.T.BARNUM story. So when they decide to make a movie musical based on the story of P.T.BARNUM, naturally you imagine it will feature all the classic music from the famous stage show BARNUM.
shareThat's kinda the point: Lion King has nothing to do with Cats, other than both involve cats of a sort. Grease has nothing to do with Bye Bye Birdie, other than both have rock and roll as a backdrop. Barnum has nothing to do with The Greatest Showman, other than they both are about P.T. Barnum.
This is an entirely new and different musical about the same subject matter. Different screenwriters, different music composers, different choreographers, a different artistic piece. An all-new musical based on Jesus H. Christ, would not be expected to include music from Jesus Christ Superstar, nor would an all-new musical version of Romeo and Juliet be expected to include songs from West Side Story.
The Greatest Showman was never promoted as the movie version of the stage show. In fact, they gave it a different title so people wouldn't expect to see or hear the Broadway show. Evidently, that wasn't enough.
No. But they are making a Broadway musical based on it.
share